I spent a lot of time and energy early this summer filling the balcony of my new 2nd-story apartment with plants; I have ivy and wandering jew and chrysanthemum and a bunch of types I don't even remember the name of in clay pots and hanging from ceiling hooks. I love green; I've wandered out onto my balcony countless times this summer just to enjoy being around so much green living stuff.

Around 9:00 pm on May 7th, I realized that I hadn't watered them in a couple of days. It was early summer in Texas, and hence already hot enough during the day that a potted plant could fatally dehydrate in the course of one afternoon, so I rushed outside in the dark to check them to see if they were thirsty.

Imagine my shock when upon sticking my hand into the hanging pot of the wandering jew, a bird shrieked and shot right out of it into the trees.

After recovering from a moment or two of shock, I got my flashlight and checked the hanging pot: sure enough, there was a nice tidy bird's nest and two small white eggs from what I'd discover was a Mourning Dove. This mother bird had worked fast; I had cleaned out that hanging pot just the weekend before. She made her nest and laid her eggs within six days.

Nearly a full month later, Memorial Day weekend, I was treated to a wonderful little shock: the dove's eggs had both hatched, and there were two little Mourning Dove chicks living in the nest in the wandering jew hanging from my balcony. I watch them through the blinds of my bedroom window; they're small and weird-looking, and really ugly, like someone dipped them in oil. In other words, perfectly normal, healthy bird infants. Their eyes and beaks, though, already look just like their mother's.

They were hungry too; all the time. They'd fight over who gets fed when mother decides it's time for food, flapping their downy little wings at each other and getting really fussy before wearing themselves out fast and then falling asleep. 'S cute.

The parents didn't let me get many pictures of them; they hid them from me when I tried to get close, and the plant had grown a bit making it doubly hard to get a clear shot. All told I finally managed to get two fair pictures of the babies, though they are definitely of a low quality.

Then finally, on June 4th, the birds were all gone; the nest was empty. In the night the babies flew away and the parents left the nest. Since that time I have seen a Mourning Dove occasionally checking out the old nest, but no new eggs so far.

Oh, well. I was happy to help two new birds into the world in some small way. Mourning Doves are repeat nesters, so maybe with a little luck they'll come back next year and start another brood.

- Scott Thompson